A Floorless Coaster is a type of
steel roller coaster manufactured by
Bolliger & Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them, allowing their feet to swing freely just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster model began between 1995 and 1996 with
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
at
Six Flags Great Adventure opening on April 2, 1999, making it the world's first Floorless Coaster. Floorless Coasters also tend to have 3 to 7 inversions incorporated in the layout of the coaster.
Recently, Bolliger & Mabillard have used floorless trains on their
Dive Coasters, such as
Griffon and
SheiKra
SheiKra (, ) is a steel Dive Coaster roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The roller coaster was proposed by Mark Rose, vice-president of design and engineering for the park, and desi ...
. Though they contain floorless trains, the coasters are still not considered Floorless Coasters as B&M classifies them as another model.
Maurer Söhne
Maurer AG, formerly known as Maurer Söhne GmbH & Co. KG, is a steel construction company and roller coaster manufacturer. Founded in 1876 in Munich, Germany, the company has built many styles of steel buildings, ranging from bridges, industrial ...
has designed their own version of the Floorless Coaster, a variant of their X-Car called ''X-Car Floorless'', but currently do not have any installations.
History
According to Walter Bolliger, development of the Floorless Coaster began between 1995 and 1996. In 1999, the world's first Floorless Coaster opened at
Six Flags Great Adventure as
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
. With the success of Medusa,
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...
,
Cedar Fair
Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included- ...
,
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...
, and independent parks,
Janfusun Fancyworld
Janfusun Fancyworld () is an amusement park in Yongguang Village, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan.
The park occupies an area of approximately and features Sky Wheel.
Ferris wheel
Janfusun Fancyworld is the home of the tall Sky Wheel, ...
,
Parque Warner Madrid
Parque Warner Madrid is a theme park located southeast of Madrid, Spain, in the municipality of San Martín de la Vega. The park opened as Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid/Warner Bros. Park Madrid on 6 April 2002 and was owned by numerous Spani ...
,
Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klam ...
, and
Ocean Park Hong Kong
Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known as Ocean Park, is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, animal theme park and amusement park situated in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the Southern District of Hong Kong. It is the second largest t ...
have built other coasters of this model at their parks. B&M has built 13 Floorless Coasters from the ground up, with
Dominator at
Kings Dominion
Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia, north of Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 rides, shows and att ...
being the only one relocated to another park.
They have also converted three of their
stand-up roller coasters to Floorless Coasters:
Rougarou at
Cedar Point,
Patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
at
California's Great America, and
Firebird
Firebird and fire bird may refer to:
Mythical birds
* Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures
* Bennu, Egyptian firebird
* Huma bird, Persian firebird
* Firebird (Slavic folklore)
Bird species
''Various sp ...
at
Six Flags America
Six Flags America is a theme park located in the Woodmore CDP of Prince George's County, Maryland, .
Design
The design of a Floorless Coaster has one main difference from traditional steel roller coasters around the world: there is no floor under the seats.
While a
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
is parked in the
station, a floor is used only for loading and unloading purposes. Because the front row has nothing in front of it to stop riders from walking over the edge of the station, a gate is placed in front of the train to prevent this from happening. Once all the over-the-shoulder restraints are locked, the floor separates into several pieces and retracts underneath the station. The gate then opens, allowing the train to move forward. When the train returns to the station, the floor is brought back up and the gate is closed for the next group of riders to load and unload. Aside from the station, Floorless Coasters have similar layouts to B&M's sit-down coasters.
Installations
Bolliger & Mabillard has built thirteen Floorless Coasters from the ground up, with three additional that were converted from
stand-up roller coasters. The roller coasters are listed in order of opening dates.
''Note'': Although some
Dive Coasters (such as
SheiKra
SheiKra (, ) is a steel Dive Coaster roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The roller coaster was proposed by Mark Rose, vice-president of design and engineering for the park, and desi ...
,
Griffon,
Valravn
In Danish folklore, a valravn ( Danish "raven of the slain") is a supernatural raven. Those ravens appear in traditional Danish folksongs, where they are described as originating from ravens who consume the bodies of the dead on the battlefield, a ...
and
Yukon Striker) feature floorless trains, they are ''not'' considered Floorless Coasters.
Similar rides
Maurer Söhne
Maurer AG, formerly known as Maurer Söhne GmbH & Co. KG, is a steel construction company and roller coaster manufacturer. Founded in 1876 in Munich, Germany, the company has built many styles of steel buildings, ranging from bridges, industrial ...
, a German roller coaster and steel manufacturer, has developed their own version of the Floorless Coaster called the ''X-Car Floorless''. The car is the same as the original ''
X-Car'' with the only difference being that there is no floor during the ride.
As of 2019, no ''X-Car Floorless'' roller coasters have been manufactured.
See also
*
Dive Coaster, a type of roller coaster also designed by
Bolliger & Mabillard, that feature floorless trains on some models.
Notes
References
External links
Bolliger & Mabillard's Floorless Coaster
{{Rollercoaster tracks
Roller coasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard